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Stocks Inch Higher as McDonald's, HP and Cisco Advance

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- Major U.S. stock averages eked out gains Monday with the help of blue-chips McDonald's (MCD) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) .

Meanwhile, as investors remained jittery about the political upheaval in Italy and the progress of averting the U.S. "fiscal cliff," Reuters reported that the Bank of Japan will likely ease monetary policy next week as the country's outlook continues to be clouded by the potential fallout from the U.S. budget and soft Chinese growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 15 points, or 0.11%, to 13,170. The blue-chip index, which came off a one-month closing high, began the session up more than 7.5% in 2012.

McDonald's shares added 1.1% after the fast-food giant reported an increase of 2.4% in global same-store sales for November, exceeding the average analyst estimate of only 0.1%, helped by the popularity of a breakfast menu in the U.S., and value meals and meal combinations in Europe. In October, McDonald's had posted its first decline in monthly sales in nine years.

The S&P 500 settled up half of a point, or 0.03%, at 1,419. The Nasdaq increased 9 points, or 0.30%, at 2,987.

In the broader market, most sectors were in the green, led by advances in the transportation, technology, basic material and healthcare sectors. Only the consumer-cyclical and financial sectors slumped.

Volumes reached 2.96 billion shares on the New York Stock Exchange , and were also weak at 1.52 billion shares on the Nasdaq. Advancers edged decliners 1.2-to-1 on the Big Board and 1.3-to-1 on the Nasdaq.

"I've said I will work with Republicans on a plan for economic growth, job creation and reducing our deficits, and have some compromise between Democrats and Republicans," he told workers.

On Sunday, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met at the White House for the first time in 23 days to discuss resolving the fiscal cliff. Details of the conversation weren't revealed, but both offices said that the "lines of communication" remain open.

"Averting the cliff before Christmas will likely rally the S&P to 1,500 by year-end or early January, provided the 2013 fiscal drag does not exceed 1.5% and is not mostly tax hikes," said David Bianco, chief U.S. equity strategist at Deutsche Bank. "But further 2013 S&P upside will be sensitive to the legislation's details. If top income-tax-bracket rate hikes are curbed from what's scheduled, then the S&P should reach 1,550 by 2013's end. If the new top dividend tax rate is 25% or less, then the S&P should reach 1,600 by the end of 2013."